Page 9 - 31OCT2018E

KASHMIR

n October 10, was the last year’s Srinagar
Abdul Hamid WHY ONLY A FEW parliamentary by-poll when
and his wife not only did people largely
Zubaida of the VOTE IN KASHMIR? boycotted but the exercise
O Batamaloo was also resisted, leading to
locality in Srinagar left their killing of eight people. And
home at 5.45 am when it was that too in central Kashmir’s
pitch dark outside. Their face Boycott of civic polls underlines how alienated Budgam district which has
covered with a muffler, they Kashmir is, reports RIYAZ WANI largely been peaceful over
silently made their way to the past decade.
a nearby polling station to Writing about the boycott
cast their ballot in the second of the polls, a local English
phase of the Valley’s civic daily termed it “a profoundly
polls. By around 6.15 am both telling development”.
were back home. None of “If anything it starkly
their neighbours saw them shows how the policies of
and this is what they wanted. the BJP-led government
It saved them both from the have completely alienated
social stigma attached to Kashmir,” an editorial in
voting in the polls in Kashmir Kashmir Observer said.
and also from the possible “Four and a half years is a
wrath of the militants who long time for a policy to bear
have warned people against fruit. And if we go by the
participating in the exercise. current situation, the Doval
“It was dangerous to vote. Doctrine has only ended up
But I decided to go for it as I deepening the disaffection
wanted my candidate to win,” in Kashmir. Never before has
Hameed said. the gulf between the govern-
But despite the risk under- ment and the people wid-
taken by Hameed, barely one ened to such an unbridgeable
per cent of people exercised just three per cent voter boycotted in Valley, if not in level”.
their franchise in Srinagar. turnout as parts of Srinagar Jammu and Ladakh regions. The widespread poll boy-
There was a meagre polling and Anantnag witnessed And this is something that cott has now put a question
in other parts of the Valley a near-total boycott of the hasn’t happened in the Valley mark over the next year’s
too. Only exception was the electoral exercise. since 1996 when Assembly general election. There is a
North Kashmir township of Srinagar Municipal areas elections were held first time fear that if the grassroots
Sumbal where around 30 of Batamaloo and Habba after the outbreak of the exercise like municipal and
per cent of people cast their Kadal assembly segments armed separatist movement panchayat polls go un-partic-
ballots. Still the average per recorded barely 2.3 per cent in 1989. ipated, it is unlikely that the
centage of polling in Kashmir turnout, according to official Interestingly, there was Lok Sabha elections will see
Valley for the first phase was figures released by the CEO overwhelming participa- any voting.
a no more than 8 per cent. evening. In the 2014 assembly tion in Assembly polls held “This should be a moment
The decision to start elections, these two constitu- immediately after the mass of introspection for New
polling at 6 was taken after a encies had recorded more unrests of 2008 and 2010. In Delhi,” said Naseer Ahmad,
paltry 10 per cent of people than 20 per cent turnout. fact, more than 80 per cent a columnist. “The boycott of
voted in the first phase. The story of southern of the people cast their ballot elections in Kashmir is now
Government expected that Anantnag town was no during Panchayat polls held more a result of the people’s
the more people will be different as the polling per in 2011, defying Hurriyat own initiative than a re-
encouraged to vote under centage within its municipal boycott call. This was stun- sponse to the boycott call by
the cover of darkness. But it limits stood at 1.1 per cent, ning considering only a few the Hurriyat and militants”.
still didn’t work - albeit it did much lower than Srinagar, at months ago, the Valley had
help the per centage lift by a the end of the voting time. witnessed a five month long *Names have been changed
few infinitesimal per centage One thing that stands separatist revolt in which 120 to protect the identity.
points. out is that the civic polls youth lost their lives.
Kashmir Valley recorded have been predominantly Only exception to this rule LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

TEHELKA / 31 OCTOBER 2018 9 WWW.TEHELKA.COM

9 Riyaz.indd 3 10/16/2018 12:26:27 PM